Safety gas valve



March 12, 1946. J, HALL 2,396,324

SAFETY GAS VALVE Filed June 20, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l L x Im 1entbr Jli z'zaifiZl By @zm 406% WWW M5 March 12, 1946. J.'HALL I 2,396,324

SAFETY GAS. VALVE Filed June 20, 1945 2*Sheets-Sheet 2 I 4 Inventor WWW Patented Mar. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY GAS VALVE Julius. Hall, Wheelwright, Ky.

Application June 21?, 1945, Serial No. 60%4'30 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in safety ga valve designed particularly for use in supply pipes of natural gas for domestic and industrial purposes and has for its primary object to provide means for automatically closing the valve and to maintain the valve in its closed position should the flow of gas be interrupted for any reason, whereby the supply line leading to an open burner or lamp will remain cut oif until the valve has been reset.

A further object of the invention is to include an electric switch in operative engagement with the valve control means whereby to close a circuit for an alarm upon a closing movement of the valve.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character of simple and practical construction, which is eificient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install in operative position in the gas supply pipe and which otherwise is well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view.

Figure 2 is a top plan view, and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the valve housing and through the housing for the thermostat.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention the numerals 5 and 5 designate the upper and lower section of a valve housing having their edges connected to each other by bolts or the like I and having a horizontal partition 8 positioned between the connected edges of the sections of the housing to separate the housing into upper and lower chambers 9 and 10 having communication with each other through a valve seat II in the partition 8.

A gas inlet pipe I2 is connected to the lower chamber l and a gas outlet pipe I3 is connected to the upper chamber 9. The pipe l2 has a manually control valve l4 therein while the pipe 13 has a similar valve I therein.

A valve I6 is supported at the lower end of a valve stem l! which projects upwardly and outwardly through the top of the upper section 5 of the housing for vertical sliding movement, the

(CL 158-117 .1 )v

valve stem being provided with a packing member IS.

A horizontal rod I9 is pivotally supported intermediate its ends by means of a post 20, one end of the rod being pivoted to the upper end of the valve stem ll while to the other end of the rod is attached a weight 2| secured in slidably adjusted position on the rod by means of a set screw 22.

A bracket 23 projects horizontally from the upper section 5 of the housing and to the outer end of which is secured a vertically extending tubular thermostat housing 24 having a bellows type thermostat 25 positioned therein for vertical expanding and contracting movement. The upper end of the thermostat 25 is connected to the rod 19 adjacent its free end by meansof a pivoted link 26.

A bracket 21 is also attached to the thermostat housing 24 and on which is pivotally supported a mercury switch 28, the mercury switch being normally supported in a horizontal position when the valve I6 is open by means of a link 29 pivotally connecting one end of the mercury switch to the rod l9.

The end of the mercury switch having the link attached thereto is also provided with a pair of circuit wires 30 extending into the end of the mercury switch above the bottom portion thereof to provide spaced apart contacts 3| in the end of the mercury switch normally maintained in open position when the switch is supported horizontally by the link 29 and when the valve I6 is open as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings.

A pilot 32 is connected to the outlet pipe l3 by means of a pipe 33, the pipe 33 also having manually control valve 34 therein and the pilot is positioned immediately below the lower end of the thermostat 25.

Accordingly in the operation of the device of the valve I6 is manually held in its open position while gas from the inlet pipe I2 is admitted into the chambers 9 and I0 for passing through the outlet pipe 13 to enable lighting of the pilot 32 whereby the thermostat 25 will be expanded to raise the link 26 upwardly and to support the weighted end of the arm [9 in its raised position whereby the valve l6 will be maintained in its lowered open position by the thermostat. Should the supply of gas entering the chambers 9 and H) from the inlet pipe 12 fail for any reason the pilot 32 will be extinguished thereby enabling contraction of the thermostat 25 and a lowering of the weighted end of the arm l9 and a raising of the valve [6 into it closed position. The

valve will remain in its closed position until the pilot 32 has again been lighted.

When the weighted end of the arm l9 drops downwardly, the mercury switch 28 will be tilted downwardly at its end provided with the contacts 3| whereby the circuit will be closed to sound or energize an alarm or signalling device (not shown) connected to the circuit Wires 30.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, thateven though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A safety gas valve comprising a valve housing, a partition therein separating the housing into a pair of chambers, said partition having a valve seat therein providing communication between the chambers, inlet and outlet gas pipes connected to the respective chambers, a burner connected to the outlet pipe, an expansible and contractible thermostat mounted above the burner, a weighted arm, means pivotally supporting the arm intermediate its ends, a valve connected to one end of the arm and positioned in the housing for closing communication between the chambers, and means connecting the arm to the thermostat for supporting the valve in open position when the thermostat is expanded by heat from the burner, said thermostat releasing the arm for lowering movement to close the valve upon extinguishing 

